2019 AND BEYOND: DR VLAHOS IS TRANSITIONING TO A NEW ACADEMIC POSITION IN THE USA. THEREFORE, UNFORTUNATELY WITH REGRET THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO FUTURE COURSES PLANNED.
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Latest news: DR VLAHOS IS TRANSITIONING TO A NEW ACADEMIC POSITION IN THE USA. THEREFORE, UNFORTUNATELY WITH REGRET THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO FUTURE COURSES PLANNED.
Latest news: Dr Vlahos awarded Magna Cum Laude, Cum Laude and Certificate of Merit Awards! |
MESSAGE FROM DR VLAHOS
Dear Friends,
I am extremely sorry to announce that the Grayscale Courses in the form that previously operated will have to end, that the Spring 2019 courses are cancelled, and that currently no future courses are being planned.
I have had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of your colleagues over the years, working hard together, having fun, learning in abundance and translating that to great exam success. I know that many of you were hoping for the same experience.
As I am transitioning to the United States to take up a new academic position I felt it was important to try to leave a legacy for those following to ensure others had the opportunity to experience the material and refined teaching methods I had developed. I selected a a new team of three fantastic radiologists that worked hard to prepare for the transition of delivering my material to you, and indeed on expanding the offerings. We were all really confident that this would be a success and I would supervise the delivery remotely and continue to guide the new team.
Unfortunately some unexpected personal circumstances have come up for the new team which means that the group cannot deliver the courses. Sometimes life throws some bumps in the road. I would have loved to step in and assist for the Spring Courses, but it is too many dates spread over too long a period to be away from my new position. Unfortunately because I will not be able to supervise those first courses, it also means that at the present we cannot plan any future courses even when issues are hopefully resolved.
I know that you will be disappointed. It is mirrored in the disappointment that the new team , and that I am also conveying to you here.
I remain at your disposal for advice,
Sincerest regards,
Johnny Vlahos
Grayscale Courses:
Grayscale Courses deliver unparalleled FRCR 2b preparation support. We pride ourselves on:
Three distinct courses are available:
All the courses were created by international award-winning educator Dr Johnny Vlahos - the fruits of his personal vision honed from training many years of trainees for the UK FRCR, the US Boards and more recently the EDiR European Diploma.
- Teaching excellence - personally tailoring the courses to our delegates – be that during the courses or before and after through online learning materials with individualised feedback.
- Providing delegates with exposure to a vast range of excellent cases, gathered over many years and continuously updated.
- Tried and tested teaching methods designed to demystify complex radiological concepts and hone delegates’ exam technique.
Three distinct courses are available:
- The 2-day viva courses
- The 1-day written reports (‘long cases’) course and
- The 1-day rapid reporting course
All the courses were created by international award-winning educator Dr Johnny Vlahos - the fruits of his personal vision honed from training many years of trainees for the UK FRCR, the US Boards and more recently the EDiR European Diploma.
2 day original FRCR 2b Course::
FRCR Attendee Quotes:
"This is a course like no other. It is small and intimate and tailored to your individual needs."
" Films are great."
" Tips give you many eureka moments"
"Mini tutorials leave you wondering how you never grasped certain things" Successful candidate SS, London
The Grayscale 2-day viva course is intentionally designed for a small number of delegates, to personalize and intensify the learning experience. You will not undertake complete viva exams but will get personal vivas, and extensive personal exposure to an enormous volume of excellent cases, carefully selected for their teaching points. You will see very many difficult, but real, FRCR-level cases that you have not seen before – the kind that can stop you in your tracks in the exam and upset or even derail your course. Cases will be interspersed with a few short talks on hot topics for the exam.
Your time and money are too valuable to go on a course where you have seen many of the cases before. This may make you feel good, but you are not expanding your knowledge base. Instead we focus on the material others do not have or cannot effectively explain, from the rare to the common but complex. We push you to be the best you can be and give you a strategy for every film and situation to perform better than you thought possible.
This experience is not like any other course. On most courses you will do an exam and get some limited feedback. In effect it is an assessment in a moment in time. You will still need to go on one or more of those conventional courses. But you should consider this course an essential extra. It complements typical "exam" or "viva" format courses and picks up where other courses leave off. It teaches you for the exam and for life, but most importantly it teaches you personally how to perform in the viva and differentiate yourself from other candidates.
Whether you are the middle of the road candidate wanting to pass, the candidate aiming to do well and win the gold medal or jade bracelet (and Grayscale courses have helped individuals do that), or embarking on your fifth or sixth attempt (and Grayscale courses have done this many times) – this course is for you.
Finally, it is important to recognise the value the course delivers. Although predominantly a viva course, online material for rapid reporting and written cases is also included. For weeks before the course, you will receive cases to review and answer, allowing us to critique your approach, gain an insight into your strengths and weaknesses, and to provide tailored training. During the online teaching you will also get rapid reporting analytical training and three sets of rapid reporting. After the course you will receive more cases and teaching materials. We will do our best to be available for advice and support.
Find out more details about the course in the FRCR2b Courses section, or the testimonials section.
"This is a course like no other. It is small and intimate and tailored to your individual needs."
" Films are great."
" Tips give you many eureka moments"
"Mini tutorials leave you wondering how you never grasped certain things" Successful candidate SS, London
The Grayscale 2-day viva course is intentionally designed for a small number of delegates, to personalize and intensify the learning experience. You will not undertake complete viva exams but will get personal vivas, and extensive personal exposure to an enormous volume of excellent cases, carefully selected for their teaching points. You will see very many difficult, but real, FRCR-level cases that you have not seen before – the kind that can stop you in your tracks in the exam and upset or even derail your course. Cases will be interspersed with a few short talks on hot topics for the exam.
Your time and money are too valuable to go on a course where you have seen many of the cases before. This may make you feel good, but you are not expanding your knowledge base. Instead we focus on the material others do not have or cannot effectively explain, from the rare to the common but complex. We push you to be the best you can be and give you a strategy for every film and situation to perform better than you thought possible.
This experience is not like any other course. On most courses you will do an exam and get some limited feedback. In effect it is an assessment in a moment in time. You will still need to go on one or more of those conventional courses. But you should consider this course an essential extra. It complements typical "exam" or "viva" format courses and picks up where other courses leave off. It teaches you for the exam and for life, but most importantly it teaches you personally how to perform in the viva and differentiate yourself from other candidates.
Whether you are the middle of the road candidate wanting to pass, the candidate aiming to do well and win the gold medal or jade bracelet (and Grayscale courses have helped individuals do that), or embarking on your fifth or sixth attempt (and Grayscale courses have done this many times) – this course is for you.
Finally, it is important to recognise the value the course delivers. Although predominantly a viva course, online material for rapid reporting and written cases is also included. For weeks before the course, you will receive cases to review and answer, allowing us to critique your approach, gain an insight into your strengths and weaknesses, and to provide tailored training. During the online teaching you will also get rapid reporting analytical training and three sets of rapid reporting. After the course you will receive more cases and teaching materials. We will do our best to be available for advice and support.
Find out more details about the course in the FRCR2b Courses section, or the testimonials section.
The Written Reports FRCR 2b Course:
This course was originally designed at the request of attendees of the 2-day viva course who wanted more of the same for different parts of the exam! Delegates will learn as part of a slightly larger group compared to the original viva course but we still aim to develop your skills for the reporting component of the exam in a personal fashion.
Many candidates perform inconsistently on this part of the exam, or fail to score as high as their ability permits. Indeed many people who have failed the exam more than once identify that they may have passed this section the first time, but failed on the re-sit. This is because candidates are not performing commensurate to their ability in this section. It reflects a combination of limitations in rapid observation and analysis and a lack of a specific technique for this section of the exam.
On this course you review DICOM cases on an exam style 21.5inch imac computer, provided by the course, running Horos (identical to Osirix). You will sit several written case exams, starting before the course, during the course, and after the course. We focus on how to look at cases correctly and rapidly, and how to simultaneously perform a cogent analysis. You will learn how to raise the bar of your individual performance to extract the maximum score you can. We want to get into the mindset of the exam setter and break down where the points are available in the case. Just like the viva course we are aiming not for 6s, but 6.5, 7 or better, on each case. Our objective is to build a buffer of high scores to protect from the inevitable not so good case.
As with all the Grayscale Courses, the teaching is not limited to the course day itself. You receive cases both before and after the course by email.
Find out more details about the course in the FRCR2b Courses section, or the testimonials section.
Many candidates perform inconsistently on this part of the exam, or fail to score as high as their ability permits. Indeed many people who have failed the exam more than once identify that they may have passed this section the first time, but failed on the re-sit. This is because candidates are not performing commensurate to their ability in this section. It reflects a combination of limitations in rapid observation and analysis and a lack of a specific technique for this section of the exam.
On this course you review DICOM cases on an exam style 21.5inch imac computer, provided by the course, running Horos (identical to Osirix). You will sit several written case exams, starting before the course, during the course, and after the course. We focus on how to look at cases correctly and rapidly, and how to simultaneously perform a cogent analysis. You will learn how to raise the bar of your individual performance to extract the maximum score you can. We want to get into the mindset of the exam setter and break down where the points are available in the case. Just like the viva course we are aiming not for 6s, but 6.5, 7 or better, on each case. Our objective is to build a buffer of high scores to protect from the inevitable not so good case.
As with all the Grayscale Courses, the teaching is not limited to the course day itself. You receive cases both before and after the course by email.
Find out more details about the course in the FRCR2b Courses section, or the testimonials section.
The Rapid Reporting FRCR 2b Course:
The rapid reporting course was also set up to meet demand from delegates for more! As with the reporting course, delegates will learn as part of a slightly larger group but we still strive to provide a personalised learning experience. Many candidates find this section of the exam, designed to be a simple reflection of day-to-day plain film reporting, terrifying and many have passed all sections simply to stumble here. The high score required breeds understandable fear. The variability of packs trainees encounter feeds into this anxiety. We not only train you for the correct standard for the exam but answer all the queries you have about individual films and hypothetic scenarios.
On this course you review DICOM cases on a 21.5inch imac computer, provided by the course, running Horos (or identical Osirix). On this course you will do an exam pack before the course that we will mark and give you personalised feedback on the best way to approach the exam for you. During the course we do not simply do packs - you can do repeated packs in your home institutions and on other courses. We will focus on three elements. Firstly giving you an understanding of the strategy for the exam, understanding the standard of the exam, how the variance of the exam is handled, how it is marked, and some simple mathematical approaches to guide high success. Secondly we spend time on a dedicated approach to each anatomic area and film type, and guide you on how to gain confidence in normality. Mixing multiple rapid fire normal and abnormal films we will try to reinforce confidence and speed. You will see a large volume of cases, far more than if you simply did packs. The experience is highly interactive, didactic, fun and effective. Finally we reinforce the learning with 2 exam packs. Following the course we will provide you with a further pack to undertake at home with answers to mark and assess your progress.
Just like the viva course we are aiming not for 6s, but 7s or better for our rapid reporting. Our objective is to build a buffer of a high score to improve our chances of passing overall.
Find out more details about the course in the FRCR2b Courses section, or the testimonials section.
On this course you review DICOM cases on a 21.5inch imac computer, provided by the course, running Horos (or identical Osirix). On this course you will do an exam pack before the course that we will mark and give you personalised feedback on the best way to approach the exam for you. During the course we do not simply do packs - you can do repeated packs in your home institutions and on other courses. We will focus on three elements. Firstly giving you an understanding of the strategy for the exam, understanding the standard of the exam, how the variance of the exam is handled, how it is marked, and some simple mathematical approaches to guide high success. Secondly we spend time on a dedicated approach to each anatomic area and film type, and guide you on how to gain confidence in normality. Mixing multiple rapid fire normal and abnormal films we will try to reinforce confidence and speed. You will see a large volume of cases, far more than if you simply did packs. The experience is highly interactive, didactic, fun and effective. Finally we reinforce the learning with 2 exam packs. Following the course we will provide you with a further pack to undertake at home with answers to mark and assess your progress.
Just like the viva course we are aiming not for 6s, but 7s or better for our rapid reporting. Our objective is to build a buffer of a high score to improve our chances of passing overall.
Find out more details about the course in the FRCR2b Courses section, or the testimonials section.
Final FRCR Part B:
The Final FRCR Part B exam will be a nervous situation and you may well underperform compared to your expected ability. We want you to milk every film for everything it has. There is a big difference between getting a film "right" and "nailing it" so the examiner has little to do but take it down. The same applies to the written section of the exam. The difference is that those extra points that are gained from a "high pass" rather than a "bare pass" are what compensate for those inevitable cases where you make a mistake or never quite get the gist of the case. They are your buffer , and you need that buffer zone built up.
One of our mottos is "overprepare so that you can afford to nervously underperform and still comfortably pass". Let us help you maximize your preparedness. Whichever course you attend be prepared for intense hard work, some self-deprecating humour and an experience we hope you will value. It is an impressive thing that these small groups create great camaraderie, many professional friendships have developed assisting each other with the task ahead.
You need to understand the way that examiners think, act, and how to interact with them to distinguish yourself from the rest and reassure them that you are a safe pair of hands. It is our job to show you how to do that confidently, modestly and with assurance. The best candidates can multitask about the problem at hand, speak initially semi-automatically, work through a case out loud systematically and think about the bigger picture or questions the examiner asked. This is not an innate ability. It is practiced and taught. How do you deal with films that appear normal, or where there are multiple potential but not certain findings? These are just a few areas we tackle.
One of our mottos is "overprepare so that you can afford to nervously underperform and still comfortably pass". Let us help you maximize your preparedness. Whichever course you attend be prepared for intense hard work, some self-deprecating humour and an experience we hope you will value. It is an impressive thing that these small groups create great camaraderie, many professional friendships have developed assisting each other with the task ahead.
You need to understand the way that examiners think, act, and how to interact with them to distinguish yourself from the rest and reassure them that you are a safe pair of hands. It is our job to show you how to do that confidently, modestly and with assurance. The best candidates can multitask about the problem at hand, speak initially semi-automatically, work through a case out loud systematically and think about the bigger picture or questions the examiner asked. This is not an innate ability. It is practiced and taught. How do you deal with films that appear normal, or where there are multiple potential but not certain findings? These are just a few areas we tackle.
Find our more about FRCR 2b Grayscale Courses:
If you want to know more look at the FAQ section, the "about us" section or the testimonial pages. Feel free to speak to any of our prior trainees at St. George's Hospital London or email us on [email protected] for more info or a chat.
